International Care Ministries (ICM) works to help families living in extreme poverty in the Philippines by providing their Transform program. The Transform program uses a holistic, community-based approach to provide support, training, and resources over 16 weeks to help participants develop practical life skills and break the cycle of poverty. ICM targets the most vulnerable families living on less than $0.50 per day and uses their program to help participants improve relationships, health, livelihoods, and hope for the future.

1. I n t e r n at i o n a l C a r e M i n i s t r i e s
Transform.
At ICM, we believe that no one should
live on abject poverty. With the right
support, the right training and the right
resources, the bondages of poverty can
be broken.

2. Eight million people living in the Philippines have to survive on less
than US$0.50 per day. Globally, this is defined as ultrapoverty.
ICM strives to help these people—the people who do not have
enough food to feed their families, do not have adequate shelter
from the elements, and do not have medicine for their sick children.
The average ICM participant earns just US$0.46 per day. These
people often do not have access to education, health-care,
adequate housing, sanitation, clean water, transportation, jobs
and social capital. People living in such dire circumstances need
more than just a job or food or water. They need emotional support
and community. They need an education. They need access to
medical care and resources. They need hope.
ICM selects the most needy families in a community by using a
poverty scorecard, which measures household income, housing
conditions, access to water, education and sanitation. ICM’s intention is to reach those who are living at the
absolute bottom of the economic ladder. These families are invited to join Transform.
ICM has developed a holistic community-based program called Transform to fight ultrapoverty
across the Philippines. Transform brings together the right support, the right training and the
right resources to unlock the bondages of poverty.
ICM’s partner pastors each invite twenty-five people from the most vulnerable households in their communities
to participate in Transform, a 16-week training course that is hosted in local churches and introduces practical
life-skills through the Values, Health, and Livelihood (VHL) curriculum.
ICM trainers lead the weekly VHL lessons and distribute
food resources. Five volunteer “counselors” from the host
church also join the group to offer one-on-one support
and encouragement to participants. During the week,
participants encourage one another as they try out new
businesses and implement new health and relationship
strategies. At the end of the 16 weeks, participants enjoy
deeper family relationships, healthier children and greater
household income.
POVERTY IN THE PHILIPPINES
METHODOLOGY – TRANSFORM PROGRAM
THE REALITIES OF LIFE FOR OUR PARTICIPANTS:
46¢average daily
income
26%go to bed hungry
at least once per week
56%do nothing to
purify their water
23%of mothers have
had one child die

3. ICM partners with pastors and volunteers from local
churches found in slums across the Philippines. These
local partners, who are the linchpin of our programs,
come alongside ICM families to provide ongoing support
and encouragement essential for change. As the pastor,
the volunteers and the participants gather for the weekly
transform meeting they become a community of support
for each other as they learn and grow. There is great
significance in knowing there are people who care.
The cornerstone of ICM’s strategic program is our
VHL Curriculum, which stands for Values, Health,
and Livelihood. This 16-week hands-on training
course teaches life skills for stronger relationships,
improved problem-solving and greater family
wellbeing. The training is designed for semi-literate
adult learners and utilizes interactive group activities
to engage participants to create positive long-term
change.
Delivered in a community of support and encouragement, this combination of training and resources leads to
sustainable new habits that result in increased wellbeing for the entire family.
ICM’s devoted teams of health and livelihood
trainers stand with the poor as they embrace change.
As peers who understand the hardships of slum life,
ICM staff members are able to engage participants in
transformational education in a non-threatening,
interactive and supportive way. ICM has more than
fifty health and livelihood teams that go out to the
slums every day, working alongside the pastor and
counselors to create an interactive and engaging
program for our participants.
But training alone isn’t enough. Those living in
ultrapoverty often lack the most basic assets needed
for their climb out of poverty. Therefore, in addition to
essential training, ICM also provides resources needed
to kick-start improvements in their relationships,
health practices and economic opportunities. These
resources include “Business-in-a-Box” kits that
contain resources to start a livelihood initiative,
treatment packages for common illnesses, and
feeding programs for malnourished children.
WHAT TRANSFORM DELIVERS
KEY RESULTS OF TRANSFORM
New Friends in the Community ICM Health and Livelihood Trainers
The Right Support
34%
53%
27%
13% 27%
household
income
reported
physical
abuse
less people
with no household
toilets a week
less people with
serious illnesses
decrease in those who
go to bed hungry
at least once a week

4. ICM is a registered charity in the Philippines, Hong Kong and the United States.
ICM partners with Global Development Group in Australia, with Stewardship in the UK, and with TGCF in Canada to process
tax deductible donations.
HONG KONG 21/F, Siu On Building, 243 Des Voeux Road West, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong (Phone: +852.3470.3009)
PHILIPPINES Unit 3203, Antel Global Corporate Center, Julia Vargas Avenue, Pasig City (Phone: +632.571.6975)
UNITED STATES PO Box 2146, LaPlata, MD 20646
AUSTRALIA 20 Parklands Ave, Lane Cove, Sydney 2066
UNITED KINGDOM 23 Latimer Road, Headington, Oxfordshire OX3 7PG
Josephine and her husband were struggling to raise their nine
children when neither of them had a stable job. Josephine was
only able to finish 5th grade and her husband had to drop out of
college early to take care of his family. He worked as a pedicab
driver until he hurt his back, crippling his ability to provide for his
family. The odds were stacked against this couple and it seemed
impossible to dream of a life free from poverty.
Then Josephine attended ICM’s Transform Program and
everything changed.
Empowered after receiving 16 weeks of Values, Health, and
Livelihood lessons, Josephine encouraged her husband to help
her start a business. Now they sell Banana-Q together and
are able to generate an income of PHP150 per day. Excited
by the possibility to transform her family, Josephine and her
husband also began a small container farm near their home
which Josephine uses to grow vegetables so that she can feed
her children nutritious meals. Josephine and her husband are
already beginning to break free from the bondages of poverty
and are able to live in hope that a better future is within their reach.
www.caremin.com
“This year, ICM will work to impact 750 communities with the Transform Program. The cost to run Transform
for one year is just US$5,000, a small sum for the life-transformation that will take place in the lives of 500
family members.
One 16-week program costs US$1,700 and impacts 170 family members.
Please consider sponsoring ICM’s Transform Program; join us in inspiring hope and providing help to
transform the lives of the ultrapoor in the Philippines.
Please contact info@caremin.com for more information.”
The Story Behind Banana Q